Bongani Bongo's Case Has Been Dismissed, Found Not Guilty of Bribery
- Former State Security Minister Bongani Bongo has been acquitted of corruption charges after appearing in court
- Bongo appeared in the Western Cape High Court where his representatives said there was insufficient evidence against him
- The court agreed with Bongo's representatives about the alleged cash bribe he offered to an evidence leader and dismissed the case
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Former State Security Minister Bongani Bongo appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 26 February. Bongo was cleared of charges after being accused of attempting to derail a parliamentary inquiry into Eskom.
Bongo had allegedly offered a cash bribe to the evidence leader Ntuthuselo Vanara, who was part of a Public Enterprises Portfolio committee.
Reports say that the former minister's legal representatives stated that there sufficient evidence had not been presented in court on Monday. Bongo had incessantly denied the allegations against him and it worked out in his favour.
Source: Getty Images
EWN reported that Eric Ntabazalila, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, said they were studying the judgement. The accusations of bribery against Bongo arose in 2017 while he was still a minister.
News24 reported that Vanara's original affidavit stated that Bongo had asked him to fake being ill and take sick leave, believing that the inquiry would not go on in his absence. According to Vanara, Bongo had offered him a cash bribe.
In other news, Briefly.co.za recently reported that the African National Congress (ANC) defended Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) launched a probe into an R82m tender.
It was reported that a small communications company was awarded the R82 million contract. Now the ANC has stated that the minister is innocent until proven guilty.
Allegedly, two of Dr Mkhize's associates had benefited from the tender. News24 reported that the SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyango said the communications company is based in KwaZulu-Natal. He added that the SIU had already started their investigations.
A report by SABC stated that ANC Treasurer-General Paul Mashatile says the party’s leadership will wait for Mkhize to respond to the reports. Mashatile said there was nothing to worry about and he was sure that Dr Mkhize would go to Luthuli House to explain what happened.
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Source: Briefly News
